Growing up my parents would take my brother and me on family trips during the summer. It was inevitable that at least one activity on every trip included me having to tackle some kind of height challenge.

One year it was going to the top of a mountain on a ski lift. Here is photographic evidence of me trying really hard not to cry. Enjoy.

How to be an adventurer

This is easy! When you are going to your best friend’s bachelorette party and the party planners email this:

You click the “other” box and write: if the majority responds “yes” then I’ll do it and someone will just have to push me off the platform, but if the majority responds “no” than that is totally a-okay.”

I think you can guess that the majority said yes. And that, my friends is how I became an adventurer.

Extreme zip line adventure

The night before our big adventure the eight of us sat around the kitchen table discussing our plans for the next day. I found out that we would not just be zip lining, but we would be doing an EXTREME adventure course. No biggie. None at all.

I woke up the next day and said “I can do this!” Just kidding! I woke up with a tummy full of anxiety and me thinking sh*t I don’t think I packed enough underwear.

Off we went to the adventure park! We signed our life away and geared up.

We practiced using the gear before heading off to the demo course. Thank goodness for the demo course because I was able to practice not being scared sh*itless while being just a few feet off the ground. The course ended with a baby zip line, which I had my friend record in case I fell the five feet and was too scared to go on the real course. I completed the demo course thinking I should have gotten a sticker or badge, but instead they said okay go start course one.

Off we went. We climbed up a tree and BAM we were off the ground and ready to PARTAY! I’ll say this, the group I was with was incredible. We were all supportive and did our best to give each other tips and tricks. Such a wonderful bonding experience (not being sarcastic).

I was smack in the middle of the group and I liked that. In the off chance that I fell, realized I was off the ground and panicked, or a hawk tried stealing me, the front end could go forward for help and the caboose could retrace my steps.

FYI, the zip line on the demo course is about 5 feet long and 5 feet high and makes you feel like you can achieve anything. Then you get to the fourth obstacle in the first leg of the first course and BAM. They up the height and length by what felt like a landslide. I sat down, took a deep breathe and said “screw it at least you lived to 30” and pushed myself off the platform.

After that first zip line, I was still nervous, I mean I’m above ground on shaky platforms attached to shaky trees, but I felt okay. We powered through and by the end of the first course I felt that I could handle the second course, which would increase in height and difficulty.

Fast forward to the end of the second course and I was feeling good! We had the option to continue or stop and the majority felt we had had enough and could head to our next stop. Who was I to say, “no guys let’s keep going?”

Before taking our gear off we headed to the long zip line. The high zip line. The mega zip line. Ok, enough with my dramatics. We climbed to the top of the stairs and for a second I panicked. It was higher than the others and longer, but in the end it would be the same exact experience. I took a deep breathe, clipped myself on to the cable and checked it a few times and then pushed off the platform.

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Trusting myself

For me this was an EXTREME adventure. Just climbing up the first tree to the start of the first course was big for me. Quite frankly, saying I would go was something I never would have considered just a few months ago.

I was proud that I finished the course, but I was more proud that I let myself experience the feeling of overcoming a life long fear. I’m not used to facing my fears because that means letting go of the control and not knowing the precise outcome. I look back on that scared girl taking the gondola ride to the top of the mountain and feel for her. I validate her fears, because I still have them. The only difference is, now I am wanting to face some of my fears, live in those big scary feelings and find the moments that I can say “look how far you’ve come. Take a breathe. Look around and see the beauty.”

This is where the squad and I signed our life away!
Adirondack Extreme Adventure in Lake George